High Protein, Low Carb diet, does it really help??

This sounds like the Anabolic Diet. High fat, high protein < 30 g carbs a day. 

I am currently following it and it works great for me. It takes about 4 weeks for your body to get fat adapted and use fat for energy instead of carbs. The first two weeks were difficult. 

You do not need carbs for energy. I ran a marathon on Feb 15 following this approach and I felt great. I had energy and took nothing but Power aid at every stop.

I just feel better with low carbs. I tend to get really sleepy after a carb meal. My carb up is only about a half day on Sat, not the whole weekend.

It is not for everyone, but if you are very sensitive to carbs, it can be a great way to go. 

I did it, but my carbs weren't that low.  My carbs were around 100g/day.  And one day per week was a free day where you could literally have at it and eat whatever you wanted.  I did not have alcohol though.  I went from a size 10 to a size 4 in about 8 weeks.  I've maintained it for a year and a half.  I did a boot camp program which was about 70% strength training and 30% cardio in the form of High Intensity Interval Training.  I found that endurance training is kinda the opposite in terms of training adaptations.   So, it's been tough to have both. As tri training increased I did increase my carbs significantly, and i HATE it.   But I do it anyway b/c i think it's healthier.  Which is what it's really about IMO.

It's really all about what your top goals are and figuring out what will work best for YOU.   If your goal is training for an IM, it's probably not the best time to go high protein, low carb w/ a heavy strength training routine.  If the primary goal is a certain body types and you just throw tris in on the side, well, then it might work for you.

Perhaps I should have clarified. In the past I used Gu and shot blocks to get through the later miles in a marathon. I did not carry any with me this time. Powerade was provided on the course and I took it because it was 70 degrees out and I was thirsty.

The point I was trying to make was you do not need heaps of carbs in your training to complete a distance event (such as a marathon).

I have tried Low carb diets for a short time. They work just fine. But its really hard to function in the real world when your diet is that of a wild dog. And smelling like nail polish remover all the time gets old real fast.

 When you see these diets that talk about not having Glycogen and burning only fat for energy you know that its smoke and mirrors. Without glycogen you would not be going out to run or functioning in any normal way. If you dont eat any carbs your body will make glycogen out of what ever you have. 

I just recently (for about the past 3 weeks) have changed up my diet and eliminated a lot of carbs.  I haven't totally cut them out, but just cut back.  I still eat fruits (which are carbs) but that's ok since I still want to get some healthy carbs from somewhere.  But I haven't been eating pasta/breads like I have in the past and amazingly I've had the energy to train with the smaller amount of carbs I am taking in.  I drink a lot of protein shakes with milk and eat a lot of protein- chicken and fish.  I get my fats from good fats, like cottage cheese and such.  I don't feel bloated and lathargic, or crave carbs non stop like I used to.  I really like the higher protein diet.

Anyways, the diet change is working for me. I mostly changed it up so that I'd get more protein for muscle recovery and to gain a leaner appearance. I wouldn't necessarily say that I've lost weight, but I do appear "leaner" and my clothes are looser.  So I know I'm doing something right.  Once I start my IM training I'm gonig to have to add in more carbs, but I'm going to be smart about what carbs those are.

Every now and then I might crave something sweet and carb-ish and I let myself eat it.  But what's difference is that it doesn't take much to satisfy my craving- whereas before I would overindulge.  I think it all just goes back to moderation- anything can be good if it's done in moderation.

No, that is not an optimal diet for an endurance athlete. That's not really an optimal diet for ANYone, despite what gym rats say. (I am constantly amazed at what gym rats will pound down in the belief that it will instantly transform them.)

Your best bet is to keep 60% or so  (Maybe a little more) of your diet in high quality carbs. Veggies, whole grain rice, wheat bread, seminola, quinoa, cous cous, fruits, etc. Split the other 40% pretty evenly between quality fats (olive oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, etc) and low fat proteins. Add in a serving of salmon or other fatty fish to get the good omega-3's a few times a week.

As far as losing weight, if calories in < calories out, you will lose weight. All these other diets are not healthy, nor are they permanent. Permanent fat loss (Other than on a medically supervised type diet) is usually MAXED at 1-2 lbs per week.

Part of the reason that high protein low carb diets drop weight so fast, is that muscle glycogen also retains a lot of water. So, when your carbs and glycogen return to normal, you gain back that weight anyway.

John

I completed a high pro and low carb diet back when I use to run. I was going to the gym 5 times a week for strength training and running 3 times a week. (8-10km) I dropped 18lbs from 194lbs in 6 months and increased body muscle.

So yes, I would say it worked for me.